10 March, 2014

Previously at Uni...

Considering that this blog is suppose to be about documenting new experiences, and the fact that I will be spending majority of my time at university, I thought I would make a segment on it.

So here is the first addition to the blog segment "Previously at Uni..."


What: Bachelor of Arts (First Year)

Where: Sydney University

Why: Because I still do not know what I want to do, so I am using this year as a buffer as I figure out more of my interests.


Random Thoughts:

First thing to note is that I find it a little worrying that I am already exhausted after one week of Uni... I haven't even had any tutorials yet, this is rather pathetic.

There were people who seemed to enjoy premature drinks at the Uni bar to relax and escape from what I am assuming were very stressful introductory lectures.

Groups on campus use food to lure you into joining. Lining up at the Evangelical Union's (EU) free sausage sizzle stall, I thought It was too good to be true. You didn't even have to be apart of the union to receive free lunch!

However, before I knew it, an overly smiley member was handing my friend and I pamphlets to jot down our details.

On the other hand, there are groups that use completely different approaches. Take the group of students who assert themselves with somewhat unnecessary aggressiveness while petitioning for refugee rights.

Marching around with their "F*ck Tony Abbott" t-shirts and jumping in front of you while you attempt to walk to class. It is a rather shocking scene.

Now I am not taking any positions in this matter since I am relatively ignorant of politics, but I do find their assertiveness overwhelming.

Is it the fact that they do not need to be so aggressive that makes me uncomfortable or the fact that I am simply intimidated by their passion because I have not yet found something that drives me the same way?


General Behaviour: 

There are a range of people you see at Uni. Students who look way too young, people who look like they have been in the work force for decades and now on a new path.

People who wear jeans on 27-degree days, and people who just don't wear enough.

There are always funny conversations to listen to, during the walk from the station and in between classes. I find this the most entertaining thing when I am by myself. But it then makes me wonder whether people laugh at the conversations I have with friends...

You can usually separate the fresh high school graduates from mature-aged students. Their conversations are usually abut the HSC, their ATAR, which is then followed by a laugh as they splatter "oh haha, why are we talking about the HSC!"

Attempting to cover up the fact that they are recently graduated.

I seem to feel pressured to introduce myself in lectures. During one week, I have seen the basic patterns of how others interact with each other.

Here are the different options you have before a lecture:
  • Nothing - merely ignore the person
  • Give a vague nod
  • Give a smile and nod
  • Give a "hello"
  • Give a "hello" + "how are you?"
  • Then you have the option to have the very short conversation where you introduce yourself, ask the person what course they are doing, what year they are in, and wait for the gradual journey into mutal silence. 

Here is my first uni dilemma:

What do you do when you are sitting besides a person with bad BO? 

I will lay out the situation for you. I was sitting down in my last lecture of the week. Ancient History. When a guy comes to sit a couple seats away from me. 

Before I had even looked up to see him, I got a whiff. 

Instantly I regretted my seating choice. However, I was sitting there initially, and hence it would have been strange and almost rude if I were to get up and move after he sat down.

So, I then proceeded to stay in my seat and see how the lecture would go. Now sitting in an air-conditioned room was very lovely since it was a hot day. However, it also meant that I would get waves of his BO at random points.

This is how I dealt with the situation:

Tip 1. Do not make obvious nose covering gestures. This is plain rude.

Tip 2. Try to focus on the lecture (this step didn't really work for me). 

Tip 3. This one will sound very strange, but it somewhat worked. - Try to smell the person on the opposite side of you, and hope that he/she doesn't smell worst.

And I am not kidding. I did indeed try to sniff the person on my right, and he turned out to smell like soap. Champion. So I tried to breathe in his scent to avoid the other. 



So on that fairly peculiar note, I bid you farewell. Continue exploring through the internet as I focus on making wiser decisions by finding some better smelling people to sit next to.



3 comments:

  1. If there's people behind you, just pretend you see someone you know and run back and sit next to someone. Explain the situation to them so it's not too awkward plus you've potentially made a new friend!

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    Replies
    1. though i cant practice this because almost everyone has BO in my degree

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    2. Haha that is hilarious !

      Thank you for the tip, will definitely try it next time if I'm desperate :)

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